Octopus Holdings Limited
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Octopus Holdings Limited () is a holding company based in
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
jointly owned by five major transport companies in the city. Its subsidiaries, which are all wholly owned, operate the various functions of the Octopus card in both its commercial and non-commercial usage. In 2006, the company gained international recognition by winning the Chairman's Award of the
World Information Technology and Services Alliance The World Innovation, Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) is a consortium of associations from the information and communications technology (ICT) industry around the world. The group claims that it represents over 90% of the world ICT mark ...
's 2006 Global IT Excellence Award for the Octopus card system. In January 2021,
Bravo Transport Bravo Transport Services Limited (), simply Bravo Transport is a Hong Kong public transport company, which owns two of the city's bus operators Citybus (Hong Kong), Citybus and New World First Bus. Another subsidiary, Bravo Media, is the agency f ...
, parent company of operators Citybus and
New World First Bus New World First Bus Services Limited (NWFB) is the third-largest bus operator in Hong Kong. Established by NWS Holdings and FirstGroup in September 1998, it took over 88 China Motor Bus services in Hong Kong Island. Since 2020 it has been a s ...
, sold most of its stake in Octopus Holdings Limited to
MTR Corporation MTR Corporation Limited is a majority government-owned public transport operator and property developer in Hong Kong which operates the Mass Transit Railway, the most popular public transport network in Hong Kong. It is listed on the Hong ...
, and the small remainder to another company.


Company restructure

Prompted by the business expansion of the Octopus card, Octopus Holdings Limited was formed in 2005 after a company restructure of Octopus card operator
Octopus Cards Limited Octopus Cards Limited () is the operator of the Octopus rechargeable contactless smart card used in an electronic payment system in Hong Kong. Octopus Cards Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Octopus Holdings Limited Octopus Holdings Limi ...
. The Octopus card is used by card holders as an
electronic payment An e-commerce payment system (or an electronic payment system) facilitates the acceptance of electronic payment for offline transfer, also known as a subcomponent of electronic data interchange (EDI), e-commerce payment systems have become incre ...
system, and as such, the Octopus card system is considered a commercial business and is regulated by the
Hong Kong Monetary Authority The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is Hong Kong's central bank, central banking institution. It is a government authority founded on 1 April 1993 when the Office of the Exchange Fund and the Office of the Commissioner of Banking merged. Th ...
. The non-commercial businesses of the company, such as the consumer rewards program, consumer market research, and investment holdings, on the other hand, are not subjected to such regulations. The company restructure placed Octopus Cards Limited as a subsidiary of Octopus Holdings Limited, while the non-payment businesses of the company were placed under other subsidiaries, such that its payment businesses are independent of its non-payment businesses. Additionally, Octopus Holdings Limited has also expanded the use of the Octopus card system internationally, operating its businesses outside Hong Kong under a subsidiary.


Subsidiaries

There are five wholly owned subsidiaries of Octopus Holdings Limited. *
Octopus Cards Limited Octopus Cards Limited () is the operator of the Octopus rechargeable contactless smart card used in an electronic payment system in Hong Kong. Octopus Cards Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Octopus Holdings Limited Octopus Holdings Limi ...
operates the Octopus card in Hong Kong as an electronic payment system. *Octopus Rewards Limited operates and develops Octopus Rewards, a consumer rewards programme for Octopus card customers. *Octopus International Projects Limited provides international consultancy services for automatic fare collection systems. *Octopus Investments Limited is an investment holding company. *Octopus China Investments Limited is an investment holding company for China-related projects.


Shareholding

As of 2007, Octopus Holdings Limited is a joint-venture business owned by five transport companies in Hong Kong; 57.4% by the
MTR Corporation MTR Corporation Limited is a majority government-owned public transport operator and property developer in Hong Kong which operates the Mass Transit Railway, the most popular public transport network in Hong Kong. It is listed on the Hong ...
, 22.1% by the
Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC; ) is a Hong Kong wholly government-owned railway and land asset manager. It was established in 1982 under the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation Ordinance for the purposes of operating the Kowloon– ...
, 12.4% by
Kowloon Motor Bus The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB) is a bus company operating franchised services in Hong Kong. It is the largest bus company in Hong Kong by fleet size and number of bus routes. It is a subsidiary of Transport International. ...
, 5% by Citybus, and 3.1% by
New World First Bus New World First Bus Services Limited (NWFB) is the third-largest bus operator in Hong Kong. Established by NWS Holdings and FirstGroup in September 1998, it took over 88 China Motor Bus services in Hong Kong Island. Since 2020 it has been a s ...
. Since the
Government of Hong Kong The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the executive authorities of Hong Kong SAR. It was formed on 1 July 1997 in accordance with the Sino-Br ...
owns 76.8% of the MTR Corporation (as of 31 December 2009) and wholly owns the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, it is the biggest effective shareholder of Octopus Holdings Limited.


Personal data controversy

Chief executive Prudence Chan was under pressure to resign for having made inconsistent disclosures about the sale of personal data by one or more Octopus subsidiaries. Before a Legislative Council's finance affairs panel meeting, legislators from all parties accused her of attempting to mislead the public, thus precipitating a crisis of confidence in the company, and putting the company into disrepute.Tsang, Phyllis (28 July 2010). "It's a four-letter word, Prudence - Q-U-I-T", ''South China Morning Post''


References

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External links


Official website of Octopus Holdings Limited
Holding companies of Hong Kong Holding companies established in 2005